Denkyu: Anime Webzine

Deliver My Soul
By Andromeda

Prepare yourself for a journey into the past, a past where King Louis the XV reigns and his secret police battle against foes with supernatural powers. This is a history lesson that was left out of the history books. Oh… wait… my bad. The people and places are real, and even a sprinkling of the events are real, but the story is completely made up. But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a great animated series.

D’Eon’s sister is dead and the church refuses to bury her because of the condition of her body. Upset, he wants answers and is willing to do anything to find them. As one of the loyal Knights of King Louis XV, he is recruited to the secret police. It is their job to figure out what’s happening, why so many women are disappearing, D’Eon’s sister Lia being one of them.

There aren’t many clues for them to go on. One that keeps popping up is the word Psalms, which was written on the casket Lia was found in, floating along the Seine. Along with this and other clues, D’Eon and three others loyal to the King track down those that are behind the disappearances of the local women.

One ally that D’Eon didn’t count on was that of his dead sister. Whether it’s because her body wasn’t buried on holy ground or that her she wants vengeance for her death and what they did to her body, she now possesses D’Eon when he faces peril. Whichever the reason, her soul will not go to heaven until those who are responsible are punished.

I really enjoyed how the creator of this anime used real historical people and places to wrap the story around. If you read the historical notes that you’ll find in the extras of the DVD, you’ll see how well the creator used the information about these historical figures. One of the interesting things you’ll find about D’Eon worked well for the character. In real life he never had a sister and was actually a cross dresser.

The animation was pure eye candy. The fighting sequences with the swords were wonderful to watch, every moment flowing smoothly. It’s drawn in darker tones, but the story is supernatural and requires such tones to bring that certain feeling to it. The voice acting was once again a great accomplishment by ADV. The subtitles and dubs run pretty close to each other so you wouldn’t be missing much if you watched it dubbed.

It’s rare that I collect an actual anime series or movie. I’m more of a watch it and pass it along kind of person. If I kept everything I watched, I would run out of room in my house. But this is a series that has really grabbed a hold of me. I’ll definitely be keeping this one on my shelves. I can see myself watching it again some time down the road and enjoying it them as much as I’ve enjoyed it so far. I can’t wait to see the rest.

Extras on the DVD include Historical Notes, Production Commentary (Ep. 1) with David Matranga (D’Eon de Beaumont) & Steven Foster (ADR Director), Historical Commentary (Ep. 2) with Janice Williams & Amy Forsyth (Translator), Japanese Promotional Video, Japanese Trailer, Clean Opening and Closing, ADV Previews and DVD Credits.

Volume 2 of this series is available with an artbox that will hold all six DVDs, for $39.98.

Licenser: ADV
Studio: Production I.G.
Length: 100mins
Retail: (U.S.) $29.98
Availability: Now Available. Vol 2 Available 04.17.07

By Andromeda

This is roller blading to the extreme! Goodbye to the boring ole’ roller blades, hello to motorized two wheeled roller blades called Air Treck (AT). They are the latest hottest thing out and Minami Itsuki a.k.a Ikki finds his way into the underground society of Storm Riders. He had no clue that these people, gangs, existed until one day by accident he stumbles across someone’s gear and badge.

Falling into this world of blading that seems to give one wings, Ikki’s natural ability comes out, amazing those that see what unfolds. They find it unbelievable and few come to realize that he will be the one to reach the top if he can harness and use this hidden gift. Along the way to making his own gang with two of his closest friends, he finds himself in battles to keep the badge he’s borrowed from another friend and battle for his friend’s honor.

Air Gear is a light hearted comedy with a subtle plot. The story focuses around Ikki and those involved in his life. He’s a light hearted boy, but when you make him mad, be prepared for the serious fighter hidden beneath. And like all boys his age, hot babes make his blood boil. This of course leads to a love triangle between another Air Trecker and a friend of his who happens to be an Air Trecker herself, along with her two sisters.

Within the first four episodes there is a lot of character build up. Not only do you have the main character but there are a lot of others that come into Ikki’s life and little by little you learn more and more about them. Having only seen the first volume, it’s hard to say how well the plot goes, whether it bombs out or you can grasp onto it and enjoy the whole series. After seeing the first volume, I’d recommend seeing more. This series is definitely fun.

The opening and ending themes are quite catchy and the soundtrack would be a plus for anyone’s music collection. The animation flows very well with the tone of the moment, dark where it needs to be and colorful during those playful comical moments. The extras on the DVD are nothing to rave about though, just the typical ADV previews and clean opening and closing ending.

I do give small warning that the first episode has a bit of ecchi-ness to it. Having done some research on it. There is currently a manga out that looks to be a darker version of the animated series. Also the manga was made into a musical and debuted January 7th of this year and ran until January 21st.

Licenser: ADV
Studio: Toei Animation
Length: 100mins
Retail (U.S.): $29.98
Availability: 02.06.07

Being a new mother is very time consuming and I didn’t think I’d ever get back to being able to watch anime without being interrupted so often! But I have and so I’m back to watching and writing. Not as much as I was able to do before though. That’s life though and I accept every bit of it because I wouldn’t trade any of it for something else.

Look for upcoming reviews on Le Chevalier D’Eon Vol 2 and Kurau Vol 1!!!